a journal of discovery, conviction, and walking with the poor and orphaned of Rwanda

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Bloody Sunday

“SELMA, Ala. (AP) — President Barack
Obama... and about 100 members of Congress are
converging on Selma, Alabama, on Saturday for the 50th anniversary of a
landmark event of the civil rights movement.

Obama will speak in the riverside town
to commemorate "Bloody Sunday," the day in 1965 when police attacked
marchers demonstrating for voting rights. The violence preceded the
Selma-to-Montgomery march, which occurred two weeks later. Both helped build
momentum for congressional approval of the Voting Rights Act later that year….

Former President George W. Bush also
plans to attend. Dozens of charter buses and thousands of people had already
poured into the west Alabama town….”

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This is an important time for Americans to pause and reflect. Without preconceived answers or judgment, but rather sincere interest, I want to understand:

What were the demonstrators seeking, and what was so provocative about their request? Why did some feel compelled to reject the demonstrators and their request?

What risks or threats did the demonstrators actually present?

What did the anti-protest authorities intend to achieve? Did they achieve their goal?

What values and reasoning did anti-protest persons proclaim to justify their reaction to the demonstrators?

Are there social justice issues today to which I am inclined to react irrationally, causing repression and harm to others and denying their personal dignity? Could Bloody Sunday happen today?

What is our (my) responsibility when we learn of oppression and the denial of dignity in our country or elsewhere the world?

Will I respond? How?When faced with a perceived threat, will (do) I readily compromise treasured "American values?" If so, does that make me a greater threat than the perceived threat?

Followers

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Not About Me

I am reluctant to do the Bio thing. Nothing "about me" should be the focus here, except as this open journal may resonate with (or provoke) your own thoughts. But I offer this much: After 30 years as an attorney, I am now a typical Halftimer who is determined to move beyond success to significance. Inspired and convicted by three sons (Tommy, Nathan & Wesley) who live passionate and adventurous lives, I am now privileged to participate in the exciting social changes and development occurring in Rwanda and elsewhere in Africa, hoping to empower the desperately poor. But I must be very clear on this: I am just your average coward. Suffering and sacrifice are very foreign concepts to me. However, I now believe that life comfortably ensconced in a safe cocoon misses out on too much of what might be learned, experienced, and shared with others in the Majority World, many of whom are crying out in desperate need, and some of whom beam with smiles and contentment such as I have seldom seen. I want to know them and their lives.